My daughter says it is only (!!) a jumping spider (euophrys frontalis). It apparently can nip, is not dangerous but does leave a stinging sensation for a couple of days.
It is getting worse! I thought I'd warn people a little with this topic, instead it is giving me real jitters.
we had the wasp spider in our tomato plants a couple of years ago - I was completely fascinated by the web!
On a brighter note, spiders do eat a lot of other unwelcome insects and are also part of the food chain as bird food. There is a saying which goes: a house with spiders is a happy home - that's my excuse when people point out all the cobwebs I've missed because I can't see much without glasses these days :)
Don't panic just whack it or spray it and it will curl up its tootsies and die. My cousin in Australia keeps spiders as pets their newest little" bundle of delight" will grow to the size of a fish plate or bigger ! Plus a few snakes and things all kept in box's and under control. UGH !!!
I was bitten a while ago the worst thing About it was it was a spider that bit me had been exposed to gamma rays and I now spend my days in my tight blue and red costume swinging through New York on a web which I shoot from my wrists and catch super villains…which is obviously keeping me from doing any household chores but will my missus believe me…
I'd like to know if anyone knows that one, Sandy, we have them here.... Mine was climbing up a post, and just in case, I removed it with a towel... and it jumped! Never seen one before. I have to say, unless it's the 'daddy long legs' type, I am cautious, just never scared; but then I've never been bitten either :)
I must be crazy as well, Heidi, as I don't kill them, they do a fantastic job. In fact we have one in residence in our 'wash room' who has been there a few months now. First thing I did when I came back to the house was to check he (she?) was still with us doing it's duty by eating all those horrible flies and was very pleased to see him (her)! I also don't mind snakes, our son had 5 living in his bedroom at one time, including a 15 foot Burmese Python! He now has his own family and although no longer allowed snakes, has a couple of bearded dragons which are tolerated by his OH.
what?!! jumps off the floor? yuuuuueeeerrrrkkkk....
On the general subject of spiders beware the tiny red AOUTAT spider that is apparently currently rampant in the South of France. I'm in the Aveyron and my dog has just been badly infected by the wee beasties and because of the intense irritation had chewed off about half her fur on one flank before I got her to the vet. Cost me 192 euros so sort the poor dog out with Pulvex special shampoo, an injection, cortisone and other medication. Vet told me the best place to check is between the toes. Worth a look.
I was bitten on my right big toe last year by ? Leaving two small punture marks
My first symptom was itching followed a few minutes later by blisters. After a hour the area was deep purple and after another hour completely black as if my toe had gangrene!!
I looked at my symptoms on the Internet as I thought I was having a very severe reaction to a mosquito bite but on researching I came across the Brown Recluse Spider!
Not native of France but there were a number of cases were the victim had horrible injuries caused by this spider. The venom is known to be more deadly than a cobra!!
After my allergy tablets and antibiotics my toe took over six months to heal and this year I had another ‘flare’ up because if my feet get too hot the blisters reappear and itch and the skin starts to break down.
These spiders are recognizable due to the pattern on their backs … Shaped like a violin the neck of which is on the head of the spider and the violin on the back.
They are called recluse spiders because they mostly come out at night but in the papers I found an elder French man who was bitten on the leg during an afternoon nap. He ended up in hospital with a large open wound and was very poorly.
So please beware spiders can serious hurt you and can kill animals if bitten!!
Amazed I never seem to see any...maybe I choose not to. Am now going to try and forget this thread and hoover the house, thoroughly!
many an entomologist has said that we are never more than 3 meters away from a spider.
Occasionally in our garden it's like a scene from Happy Potter with all the spiders seeming to come out of holes and be on the move - that does give me the creeps!
Confession. Our 10 year old daughter is not at all afraid, simply has a good look, photographs them and goes to her laptop to explore websites I would not wish to look at. Since her bite, my OH does not want to get anywhere near spiders.
You were very brave investigating these spiders if you are arachnophobic! We have some awful yellow and black/brown stripy spiders, they have their webs in the grass near blackberry bushes. I will ask the OH to take a photo, I am not getting that near to them!
Sorry Anna...but if it bites, it aint no friend!
My OH saw what he thought was a pale brown spider on our tiled floor one night, he bent to pick it up and yelped and dropped it PDQ. We caught it in a dustpan and it appeared to be some type of small scorpion. Without thinking he took it outside and threw it down a bank near our door. He was in pain for more than 10 days, but having survived the first night, he decided he was probably going to be ok! (he is a medical doctor and was pretty sure there were no insects in France who could kill with one sting) but he wasnt a happy bunny for a while and certainly has stopped picking up insects.
'nasty hornet type giant waspy things' are the frelon asiatique that decimate bee colonies. The law says colonies must be eradicated, which because I keep bees I do anyway. They were an accidental import via Bordeaux not so many years ago but have now spread and are well into Spain and Italy, have been seen in Belgium and may be in England in coastal regions already. I agree on the function of spiders, but they do not eradicate the frelons and if somebody is an arachnophobe then nothing really helps us.
Stings depend on allergens in them of course, hysteria about deaths and so on is disproportionate but one is x hundred people is allergic and will be very ill and just perhaps one out of x thousand might die.
Ye big jessey…
I found several of these false black widows living under a wooden step at my front door... they look very similar to the American Black Widow but are less dangerous. I have seen their cousin (apparently lives in coastal regions of the med) in a zoo... I guess a bite would hurt but not much more than accidentally stapling one's finger, so not life threatening. I guess people will always be allergic to things, but then these individuals just have to be more aware. There are some pretty nasty hornet type giant waspy things living in the Med, they can give a nasty sting. My son was stung on the knee..it was swollen to twice it's size. Vinegar and antihistimine and a dose of dolipran was all that was required though, nothing serious. Most spider bites in the med are no worse than the worst mosquito bite. Over all, spiders keep down pests, including mosquitos, so really they are our friends :-)
I am one of the crazy people,will never kill a spider,love them to bits,yes and snakes.
Wasp spiders are not poisonous to humans (despite the hysterical article in the Daily Vile recently). Please leave them alone, they are vital in the fight against insect pests.
24/7 in France: UGH - I hate spiders and this made my skin crawl (no pun intended)!